BMW Vision Neue Klasse X SUV global debut on March 21

BMW concept SUV is expected to closely preview the first of six cars based on the Neue Klasse EV platform.

Published On Mar 19, 2024 01:18:00 PM

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BMW will provide a look at the future of its SUV line-up on March 21, when it shows the new Vision Neue Klasse X concept SUV. The German brand confirmed the reveal date on social media with a teaser image showing the car’s side profile, and it has a similar silhouette to the current iX.

BMW Neue Klasse SUV: what to expect?

The concept is expected to closely preview the first of six cars based on BMW’s Neue Klasse EV platform that will arrive in the latter half of 2025. A bold, five-seater SUV set to succeed the existing iX3 will pack close to 600hp in its most potent form. It will be joined by the radical i3 saloon, which was previewed as the Neue Klasse concept at the last Munich motor show.

Other Neue Klasse electric models will be added to the line-up in quick succession, BMW R&D boss Frank Weber told our sister publication Autocar UK in December 2023.

Production of the Audi Q6 E-tron and Porsche Macan Electric rival, which is being developed for sale in each of BMW’s existing markets, will take place at a new factory in Debrecen, Hungary, from 2025. BMW’s plants in Munich, Germany, and San Luis Potosí, Mexico, are also slated to begin production of Neue Klasse models from 2026 and 2027.

BMW Neue Klasse battery and motor technology

At the centre of the developments brought to the Neue Klasse architecture is a new sixth-generation lithium-ion battery. Developed in-house at BMW, it dispenses with the prismatic cells of existing electric-powered BMW models for new cylindrical cells featuring liquid cooling. With a shift from the 400V electric architecture used in all existing BMW EVs to a more advanced 800V system, the new battery is also claimed to charge 30 percent faster than the unit it replaces.

Another key development for upcoming Neue Klasse models is a new range of electric motors. A crucial component of the new architecture, the synchronous units are not only designed specifically for the Neue Klasse platform but have also been developed to fit into other, CLAR-based electric models. BMW touts a 25 percent increase in efficiency for Neue Klasse models.

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